Member Reviews

Ree continues her journey of self discovery, now bound to a physical form. While wandering the lands of her only friend, she encounters another roving band that may hold the key to the secrets of her past and the root of her origins!

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I'm definitely keeping up with this story and will follow all of the series.

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Another great addition to Ree's adventures of personal discovery, my only complaint - that it wasn't longer!

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The second Ree Varekai novella finds Ree returning to Solaike a year or so after the successful end of the rebellion there. She falls in with a band of Korenat refugees, including another archon, who claims that Ree is herself Korenat. Still without much of her memory, Ree resists the identification, as she feels no kinship with the perpetual travelers.

There is trouble in Solaike, a large group of outlaws attacking travelers, hoping to stir up enough trouble to overthrow the new king. Ree joins the army seeking to find and root them out of the wilderness where they lurk.

Well-written and enjoyable but nothing special.

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I actually cannot pick which one of these novellas I like more. In the first, there was this mysterious quest, but in this we are treated to more agency on Ree’s part and more clues to her own past.

Ree has been journeying for months and still pieces of her memory elude her. As she returns to visit her friend Aadet, she runs into a band of wanderers who enlist her help in their quest for a future. This chance encounter sets into motion a chain of events that will result in another quest with Aadet, an encounter with a fellow being like herself, and a few clues to her own past.

There are some characters from before, but also a good dose of new characters and alliances. The more knowledge about Ree and her nature is absolutely fascinating. Ree’s character becomes even more interesting as her quirks, skills, and personality are revealed. Additionally, the adventure provides the same action, sprinkled with magical appearances that are equally confusing and wonderful. This sequel is amazing, taking everything I loved from the first, and amplifying them, illustrating the importance of friends even on our quest for our own identity.

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I feel like I might have appreciated this more if I'd refreshed my memory on the first book, Cold-Forged Flame, first. I remembered the basics, of course, but some of the subtleties apparently escaped my brain even in the short time since I read the first book. Still, I do find the world really interesting and Ree's role in the world compelling. The end of this book came as no real surprise as I'd already pegged Ree as a wanderer type.

I felt like maybe I didn't connect enough with this one, though. I wasn't hooked on it, at least. It's still well-written, but I do recommend having the first book fresher in your mind when you start it. And maybe I'm also suffering a little from missing Brennan's Lady Trent, now that series is finished. I'll be interested to revisit this (and the first book) when another book is on the horizon...

[Review link live from 17th June.]

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Ahoy there me mateys! I received this fantasy eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. So here be me honest musings . . .

lightning in the blood (Marie Brennan)

Title: lightning in the blood

Author: Marie Brennan

Publisher: Macmillian-Tor/Forge

Publication Date: April 25, 2017 (paperback/e-book)

ISBN: 978-0765392015

Source: NetGalley

If ye haven’t read the first book in this series, cold-forged flame, then ye might want to skip this post and go read me review for the first installment. If ye keep reading this log then ye have been forewarned and continue at yer own peril . . .

Now I cannot say enough goodness about the first book. I reread it in preparation for this second installment and enjoyed it just as much the second time around. I adore Ree as a character and the world-building so very much. I cannot believe I had to wait 268 days between the two, however it was worth the wait!

One of the awesome circumstances of the first story is that Ree cannot remember anything about herself, her nature, or even her name. I am a sucker for that kinda thing. By the end of story one, ye know her partial name and some of her nature but have way more questions than answers. As does Ree.

I was so exited to see where she would go next. It of course did not go anywhere that I expected! This story takes place several years after the events in the first one. While this episode has a lot less mystery than the first, I still found it engrossing and enthralling. In this second installment, Ree meets another archon which sets off another mission fer Ree, answers some of her questions, and of course gives her so many more. My favorite aspects are following Ree in her journey to reclaim parts of herself and her attempts to figure out what has been lost. The glimpses ye do get are tantalizing. It was also extremely nice to see Aadet again. Oh and this cover is awesome:

[cover image here]

Don't ye want to read about giant black cats? Ye know ye do. And that is all I am going to say about this one cause it is short and awesome and ye should discover what happens fer yerself. I want the third one!

Random fact about book two from the author's website is this:

"And you’ll see the Mayan calendrical system with a minor fictional paint job showing up in Lightning in the Blood because years ago I read about it for fun and wound up incorporating it into a story more or less wholesale, complete with fiddly little details about Year-Bearers."

I need to go off an' do research bout Mayan calendrical systems now. Go out and get the first episode if ye haven't. Read this one if ye have.

So lastly . . .

Thank you Macmillian-Tor/Forge!

The author's website has this to say about the novel:

Once, there was a call–a binding–and so, a woman appeared, present in body but absent in knowledge of her past self. Making the ultimate journey of rediscovery was not without its own pitfalls–or rewards–and now Ree, a roaming archon, spirit of legend and time and physically now bound to her current form, has yet to fully uncover her true identity.

Ree has spent her last innumerable seasons on the move–orbiting, in some sense, the lands of her only friend in this world, Aadet, who has become intricately involved in the new post-revolution politics of his people. Swinging back from the forests surrounding Solaike, Ree falls in with another wandering band, some Korenat refugees searching for their own protection on a trade route besieged with the fallout of the recent uprising. The Korenat’s plight might not have stricken Ree so deeply, but they are accompanied by their own archon, who seems to know much more about Ree’s own origins than she ever dared to hope.

Lushly woven against a foreign, and yet familiar, fantastical setting, this is the second epic adventure in Marie Brennan’s novella series with Tor.com. Only such an acclaimed and beloved fantasist could so deftly handle the intricacies of self and society, the struggle between reclaiming one’s own fate and suffering the ravages that time brings to every life.

To visit the author’s website go to:

Marie Brennan - Author

To buy the novel please visit:

lightning in the blood - Book

To add to Goodreads go to:

Yer Ports for Plunder List

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This novella explores another episode in the life of the archon Ree, an avatar formed by magic from mythic origins.

In Cold-Forged Flame, Ree was forced to give up her connection to her past incarnations, and she desperately wants to discover the source of the stories that form the basis of her existence. In this volume, she meets a group of gypsy-like wanderers traveling with their own archon, who is able to provide the answers to some of her questions.

That’s the plot in a nutshell, along with a bit of armed conflict between Ree and her friends and a group of rebel soldiers. Aadet, Ree’s companion from the first book, joins her in the battle, and it looks as if they will continue their adventures together in future novellas.

It’s a very slight story, but it does give a bit of insight into the mystery of Ree’s past (as well as the meaning of the series title). If you read and enjoyed the first in the Varekai series, you’ll probably want to read this one, too.

An eARC of the novella was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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